--- title: Weight Loss Supplement Dangers: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You description: A Consumer Reports survey shows that most people who use weight loss supplements aren’t aware of how potentially unsafe or ineffective they are canonical: https://time.com/3648784/weight-loss-supplements/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-30T11:00:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:10:06.623Z article:section: Health og:title: Weight Loss Supplements: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You og:description: A Consumer Reports survey shows that most people who use weight loss supplements aren’t aware of how potentially unsafe or ineffective they are og:url: https://time.com/3648784/weight-loss-supplements/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Weight Loss Supplements: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You twitter:description: A Consumer Reports survey shows that most people who use weight loss supplements aren’t aware of how potentially unsafe or ineffective they are twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Weight Loss Supplements Don't Work for Most People, Study Finds > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6d45dc1c-fa5d-4ec0-9c35-5dd50d551c1d&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Dec 30, 2014 11:00 AM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Dec 30, 2014 11:00 AM UTC In a survey of 3,000 Americans, researchers at _Consumer Reports_ report Tuesday that most are confused about how weight loss supplements make it to market, and that means they aren’t fully informed about how safe or effective the pills are. What’s more, of those Americans who have tried such pills to lose weight, very few met—and maintained—their goal. About 20% of those who use diet supplements to lose weight believed they were safe and tested by the Food and Drug Administration. But unlike prescription drugs, supplements aren’t regulated under the strict criteria that require manufacturers to perform rigorous safety and effectiveness testing before getting approved. Instead, supplements are regulated more like foods, so they are assumed to be safe unless they’re shown not to be by reports from users. Meanwhile, roughly 20% of those surveyed believed that the supplements were safer than more stringently regulated prescription drugs because they were “natural.” But recent studies revealed that [many supplements contain substances that have been banned](http://time.com/3529436/supplements-recalled-ingredients/) because of safety concerns; in one study two-thirds of weight loss supplements contained banned ingredients. And the supplements aren’t always benign. About half of users reported at least one side effect, ranging from dry mouth to more serious digestive issues including diarrhea and constipation, as well as rapid heart rate. When it comes to actually losing weight, the supplements didn’t fare so well either. A third didn’t shed any pounds at all, and only 9% of the respondents said they lost their target weight and were able to keep it off. But the supplements may not even take all of the credit for that success — 85% of the people who lost weight while taking a supplement also changed their diet and had an exercise plan. Which goes back to the advice that most doctors give to anyone serious about getting slimmer: weight loss doesn’t come in a pill, it comes with a healthy diet and regular exercise program. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3648784/weight-loss-supplements/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3648784/weight-loss-supplements/"},"headline":"Weight Loss Supplements Don't Work for Most People, Study Finds","datePublished":"2014-12-30T11:00:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:10:06.623Z","description":"A Consumer Reports survey shows that most people who use weight loss supplements aren’t aware of how potentially unsafe or ineffective they are","url":"https://time.com/3648784/weight-loss-supplements/","keywords":["Obesity","Supplements","Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/obesity/","name":"Obesity"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3648784/weight-loss-supplements/","name":"Weight Loss Supplements Don't Work for Most People, Study Finds"}}]}] ```